Paul Brown announced his retirement after 41 seasons of coaching and named Bill Johnson, his longtime assistant, as the successor. Brown continued to serve as the club's general manager and vice president. The Bengals acquired defensive end Coy Bacon in a trade with San Diego and drafted halfback Archie Griffin, the two-time Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State. The Bengals won nine of their first 11 games and finished 10-4, but did not make the playoffs. Cornerback Ken Riley led the AFC with nine interceptions.

The best Bengals team to miss out on postseason play was coach Bill Johnson's 1976 club, which finished 10-4 but lost a tiebreaker to Pittsburgh for the AFC Central title. Only one Wild Card team made the playoffs from each conference at that time, and the berth went to an 11-3 New England club that lost a tiebreaker in the AFC East. One other Bengals team — the 1986 club — won 10 games (10-6) and failed to make the playoffs.